In 2008 and 2009, the Chorale held workshops with Ron Burrichter and Dr. Brenda Smith. Below are some photos from the 2009 workshop.
Our clinicians focused on musical phrasing and performance styles, the physiology of vocal production, and techniques for life-long singing and cultivating vocal health. A delicious lunch gave us sustenance for the second half of the session plus an opportunity to socialize. Singing is a sport involving both mind and body - no wonder we singers like to eat almost as much as we like to sing!
 |  | |
Dr Brenda Smith, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Florida, teaches studio voice, diction and vocal pedagogy. She has been widely recognized for her contributions to the concept of lifelong singing through proper voice care. She is a lyric soprano with special interests in the recital and concert repertoire. Dr. Smith works regularly as consultant, clinician, and conductor with amateur and professional choirs throughout the world. As author and co-author of several books on the concept of voice building for choirs and on choral performance practices, she has also published articles in numerous journals and textbooks. In June, 2000 Dr. Smith was honored by the Voice Foundation and the National Association of Teachers of Singing as the recipient of the Van Lawrence Award in recognition of her demonstrated excellence in teaching of singing and her active interest in voice science and pedagogy. Dr. Smith earned a B.M. degree at the University of Evansville with further study in Germany. She holds a M.M. degree in voice performance from Westminster Choir College (Princeton, N.J.) and a D.M.A. degree in vocal pedagogy and performance from the University of Maryland (College Park, MD.) | Mr. Ronald Burrichter, Professor of Music at The University of Florida, holds the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wartburg College (Waverly, IA) and the Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory. Mr. Burrichter keeps a busy performing schedule as a lyric tenor in addition to his voice teaching and choral conducting duties. He has sung with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers numerous times, has served as soloist for Mr. Shaw at Spivey Hall in Atlanta in addition to solo appearances on two of the seven compact discs he has made with Mr. Shaw, and has appeared in Carnegie Hall under Mr. Shaw’s baton on ten occasions. He has also served as soloist for many other esteemed conductors around the world. A choral conductor widely respected for his attention to the musical phrase and the vocal health of the young voice, Ronald Burrichter is widely sought as a choral adjudicator and clinician. Mr. Burrichter has directed several choral groups while at the University of Florida. |